By Barbara Fister. I’ve been doing some historical research lately – actually, just looking back at some documents from a decade or two ago, but it feels like visiting another time. How very different libraries were in 1997 or 2003. Read more...

By Barbara Fister. It’s mother’s day as I write this, and I’m thinking about the week ahead in the library. At this time of year the reference desk is where you ask “how do I cite this comment on a YouTube video in Chicago Style?” Earlier we began to think the students thought we were a nerdy form of hotel concierge, there to help them locate books in the stacks. Read more...

By Barbara Fister. Maybe it’s because of my liberal education in a college of arts and sciences. Maybe it’s just the way my brain is wired. I’m always looking for connections, and this often happens when scrolling through Twitter. Today two items collided with a third. Read more...

By Barbara Fister. There’s a new report out from the Association of College and Research Libraries summarizing the findings of the second year of a project called Assessment in Action, an ambitious attempt involving over 200 institutions to see how libraries contribute to student learning and how we can measure that contribution. Read more...